An old-style country song, Merle Haggard’s an amazing feat of sonic storytelling that probably sums up the feelings of many mothers of lost soldiers:

I’m writing this down in a trench mom, don’t scold if it isn’t so neat, the way that you did/when I was a kid and I’d come home with mud on my feet/The captain just gave us our orders, and mom we will carry them through, and I’ll finish this letter the first chance I get/but for now I’ll just say I love you/Then the mothers old hands began to tremble, and she fought against tears in her eyes/But they came unashamed for there was no name/and she knew that her soldier had died.

Have you lost someone in the service? Tell us your story in the comments below!